English has one word for uncle. Hindi has at least four, and which one you use tells everyone listening exactly how that person is related to you. This is the part of Hindi that most surprises learners from English-speaking families, and it is genuinely useful once it clicks.
| English | Hindi | Say it |
|---|---|---|
| Mother | माँ / माता | maa / maata |
| Father | पिता / पापा | pita / papa |
| Elder brother | बड़ा भाई / भैया | bada bhai / bhaiya |
| Younger brother | छोटा भाई | chhota bhai |
| Elder sister | बड़ी बहन / दीदी | badi bahan / didi |
| Younger sister | छोटी बहन | chhoti bahan |
| Son | बेटा | beta |
| Daughter | बेटी | beti |
| Husband | पति | pati |
| Wife | पत्नी | patni |
Notice that even brother and sister split by age. You rarely say just "brother" — you say elder or younger, because in an Indian family the distinction matters socially, not just factually.
| Which uncle | Hindi | His wife |
|---|---|---|
| Father's elder brother | ताऊ taau | ताई taai |
| Father's younger brother | चाचा chacha | चाची chachi |
| Mother's brother | मामा mama | मामी mami |
| Father's sister's husband | फूफा foofa | बुआ bua |
| Mother's sister's husband | मौसा mausa | मौसी mausi |
Father's side: दादा dada (grandfather),
दादी dadi (grandmother)
Mother's side: नाना nana (grandfather),
नानी nani (grandmother)
So "I am going to my nani's house" tells a Hindi speaker immediately that you mean your mother's mother, with no further explanation.
It is not decoration. In a traditional joint family the relationship determined who you lived with, who could correct you, whose household you married into, and how property passed. A language spoken in that system needed precise words, and it kept them.
The practical consequence today: if you call everyone "uncle", you are understood but you sound like a foreigner. Getting chacha versus mama right marks you instantly as someone who knows the family.
ससुर sasur father-in-law · सास saas mother-in-law · जेठ jeth husband's elder brother · देवर devar husband's younger brother · ननद nanad husband's sister · साला saala wife's brother · भाभी bhabhi brother's wife
A warning worth having: साला is also a common mild insult when used to a stranger. Use it only for your actual brother-in-law.
Hindi has no word for "cousin". You use the same word as for a sibling, with the relationship attached: your chacha's son is your chachera bhai — literally "chacha-ish brother". Your mama's daughter is your mamere bahan.
Culturally this matters: cousins are described as brothers and sisters, and in most families they are treated that way.
Outside the family, भैया and दीदी are how you address a shopkeeper, a driver, a waiter — anyone roughly your age. Older strangers get अंकल and आंटी, borrowed straight from English and used constantly.
Using them makes you sound warm rather than distant, which is exactly the effect you want. There is more of this in our guide to greetings.
Reading about pronunciation only takes you so far — the sounds English does not have need someone listening and correcting you. EkGuru tutors teach one to one, from $6 a lesson, and most offer a trial.
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